Process of distilling petroleum



E. 0. HICKS. PROCESS OF DI STII.LING PETROLEUM. APPLICATIIQN FILED APR.3'' I920.

Patented May 17, 1921.

g I INYE'NTORI UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EIl'OCH O. HICKS, OF ST. JOSEPH, KISSOURI.

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Be it known that I ENOGH 0. Hroxsgia citizen of the United States,residing at Joseph, in the county of Buchanan and State of Missouri,have invented certain new and useful Im rovements in Processes ofDistilling Petro sum, of which the folcombine steam with the highlyheated vapors of petroleum, primarl y for preventmg ignition of saidvapors and. secondarily. for assisting their movement through the vaporconducting devices used 1n the process. I r

Apparatus for the practice of my improved process is illustrated in theaccom panying drawings, in whlchf Figure 1 is a side vlew-of mypreferred form of apparatus, certain parts bein broken away. Fig. 2 is afront view 0 the vaporizing apparatus, shown 1n. F1g.. certain partsbeing broken away. Fig. 8 1d a side new of one of the other variousforms in'which the revaporizer may be constructed certain parts beingbroken away.

lieferring to Fig. 1, the vaporizer, or boiler, 1 surmounts the firechamber 2 and is provided with the closable liquid inlet hydrocarbonliquid, for treatment is forced into said boiler, from a source ofliquid supply not shown, after which said pipe is closed.

The pipes 4 are connected with the upper side of said boiler, forconducting vapor therefrom. and for returning by gravity such'parts ofsaid vapor as are condensed in the air cooled condenser 5, the bottom ofwhich condenser is connected with the upper ends of said pigies.

The reva orizer 6 is o tro h shape and is detachab y suspended in 'saiboiler above the surface of.the body of fluid 7, which is Specificationof an." Patent.

is preferably for-med o pipe 3, through which pipe a quantity of rnocnssor msrmnmo rnraonnun.

9 Patented Mayl'i', 1921.

lppllcation flled April 17, m Serial No. 314,743.

' to be treated. Said revaporizer 1s balsam? the lower ends of the pi es4, for catching, what is commonly called crackin and re-.' vaporiz ngtherein, all of the con ensed vaper, which gravitates from the condenser5, through said pipes 4. Said condenser may be of any well known formfor radiating heat therefrom, for coolin its contents, but

the upper and 55 lower headers 8 and 9, respectively, which headers areconnected by the radiating plges 5.

o ler 1 is provided with a man-hole opening through its front end, whichopen- 1n 1s closed by the man-hole cover 10, with w lch the oil, pocket11 is formed. Said pocket 1s filled. with oil 11', for conductngheat tothe thermometer tube 12, which indicates the temperature of the fluid 7.

'I he header 8,.of the air cooled condenser 5', 1s connected with theliquid cooled condenser coil 13, by the pipe 14.

The low boiling point liquid product 14 gravltates as a distillate, fromthe coil 13, through the pipe 15, into the tank 16.

Said pipe s provided with the automatical]; operated pressure retainingvalve 17, which 1s adjusted. for maintaining about from 4 to 5atmospheres of pressure of va- 35 par 1n said condensers and the boiler1.

he .ad uStment of said valve is accomglished by rotating the valve wheel18.

ince the structural details of said valve are old, they are neithershown nor def scribed.

The relief valve 19 (provided with the hand wheel 20,) is,connected withthe upa per end-of thevertical pipe 21, the lower end of which pipe isconnected with the lower 95. end portion of the condenser coil 13, andis extended thereabove, through the cooling liquid 22, to a point abovethe top ofthe condensertank 23, in which tank said liquid and coil areplaced.

Said i-elief valve is manually" opened from time to time for relievingthe gas pressure, which is liable to accumulate in the 0011 1 andobstruct the action of the apparatns.

Inv the process steam ma .be injected into the revaporizer 6, throng thespray pipe 24, from an'unshown source of steam under pressurathe flow ofsaid steam being controlled by the valve 25. y The header 8 of the aircooled condenser is equipped, with a pressure safety valve 26 vaporizer6, seen in -trough shape, suspende and a vacuum safety valve 27 both ofwhich are well. known both in construction and operation, and aretherefore neither shown nor described in detail. F

In all of the conventional converting processes of this class, of whichI am aware, a quantity of the previously described residual portions ofpetroleum is heated to a temperature of from about 650 to about 850 F.,under a pressure of from about 4 to about 5 atmospheres, therebyvaporizin the volatile portion of said petroleum. his vapor passes intoan air cooled condenser, in which practically all of it is condensed andgravitates from said condenser into said heated petroleum, by the heatof which said condensed va or is revaporized, or what is commonly ca ledcracked, and is thereby converted into the vapor of a low boiling pointproduct. The last mentioned vapor passes through said air cooledcondenser after which it is condensed (under sai pressure) in a liquidcooled condenser, into the low boiling point liquid product, whichproduct is directed into a tank. The mixing of the condensed vapor withthe heated petroleum, as above described, destroys the viscous nature ofthe latter, rendering the unevaporated ortion of said petroleum unfitfor use in ubricants, while my separate revaporizer 6 catches all of theli uid which gravitates from the air cooled con enser and revaporizesand cracks all of said liquid separately from said heated petroleum; anherein lies my improvement in the previously described conventionalprocesses. In my improved lprocess the heated is not cooled contacttherewit of said retuned liquid, but is thus kept at its high heat andis thereby distilled in the minimum period of time, without destroyingany of its viscous nature. This maintained heat also vaporizes a greatervolume of said 'pe-- troleum, thereby reducing a greater volume of thelow boi ing point pro uct, than is produced by said conventionalrocesses.

While I have shown and described the re- Fi 1, as being of in the boiler1, above the heated petroleum 7, it is evident that revaporization couldbe done in variously formed devices, which perform their functions inthe same manner, without in any way changing my improved process.

One of such various forms of revaporizers is shown at 28, in Fig. 3.Said revaporizer etroleum tions of whic the apertures 32 are formed forpassage therethrough into said pipes, o vapor arising from said heatedpetroleum, which is heated in the boiler 33, of which bleiler and saidradiator but portions are s own.

closed What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1.The process of treating the li uid portions of the parafiin-series ofpetroleum distillation having a boiling point upward of 500 F. forobtaining therefrom low boiling point products of the same series, whichconsists of vaporizing in a still the volatile constituents of saidliquid portions of petroleum at a temperature of from about 650 to about850 F. condensing said vapor, revaporizing said condensed va or incondensate receptacles in said still or continually maintainingseparation of said condensates from said liquid portions of petroleumthroughout the entire process, thereby maintaining the viscous nature ofthe latter, re-

tillation having a boiling point u ward of O0 for obtaining therefrom 6wboiling point products of the same series, which consists of vaporizingthe volatile constituent of said liquid portions of petroleum at atemperature of from about 650 to about 850 F. condensing said vapor,revaporizi said condensed vapor separately from sai liquid .portions ofpetroleum, injecting steam into said revaporized vapor, recon-v densingsaid revaporized va r, and maintaining a pressure of from a cut 4 to 5atmospheres on the liquids of said Vapors throughout their course to andwhile undergoing condensation.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature.

moon 0. HICKS.

